Acute liver failure is a rare and devastating clinical condition. At present, emergency liver transplantation is the only life-saving therapy in advanced cases, yet the feasibility of transplantation is affected by the presence of systemic inflammation, infection and resultant multi-organ failure. The importance of immune dysregulation and acquisition of infection in the pathogenesis of acute l...

BACKGROUND Higher than normal plasma glutamine concentration at admission to an intensive care unit is associated with an unfavorable outcome. Very high plasma glutamine levels are sometimes seen in both acute and chronic liver failure. We aimed to systematically explore the relation between different types of liver failure and plasma glutamine concentrations. METHODS Four different groups of...

BACKGROUND Combined iatrogenic vascular and biliary injury during cholecystectomy resulting in ischemic hepatic necrosis is a very rare cause of acute liver failure. We describe a patient who developed fulminant liver failure as a result of severe cholestasis and liver gangrene secondary to iatrogenic combine injury or the hepatic pedicle (i.e. hepatic artery, portal vein and bile duct) during ...

Although there have been advances made in the diagnosis and management of pediatric acute liver failure, there is still no consensus regarding the definition or standardized evaluation, and an inability to predict outcomes, specifically irreversible brain injury, in many patients exists. Much of the research surrounding pediatric acute liver failure in the last several years has centered on the...

Acute-on-chronic liver failure develops in a setting of acute decompensation of chronic liver disease, associated with organ failure and high mortality rate. Many causes have been described as the “trigger event”. Viral hepatitis A, B and E is considered precipitating events and several studies have addressed this issue. Acute hepatitis C has been described as a cause of acute liver failure but...

In acute attacks of acute intermittent porphyria, the mainstay of treatment is glucose and heme arginate administration. We present the case of a 58-year-old patient with acute liver failure requiring urgent liver transplantation after erroneous 6-fold overdose of heme arginate during an acute attack. As recommended in the product information, albumin and charcoal were administered and hemodiaf...

introduction valproic acid (vpa, valproate) is an eight-branch fatty acid and varies from other antiepileptic drugs. vpa use might lead to mild to severe hepatotoxicity. the aim of this study was to investigate valproic acid impact on liver transaminases at the beginning of vpa treatment and after three and six months of it. materials and methods this study was designed as a cross sectional pro...

Intentional iron overdose in adults is uncommon. Clinical consequences are variable and depend on the quantity of iron ingested and the delay to treatment. Severe iron overdose can lead to multi-organ failure and acute hepatic necrosis. Here, we report three cases of polypharmacy overdose including iron resulting in acute liver failure. Despite maximum supportive care including liver transplant...

In USA and Britain, medications, mainly paracetamol, constitute the most important cause of acute liver failure (2). In contrast, viral hepatitis is the first cause of acute liver failure in Turkey. Hepatitis A in the pediatric group and hepatitis B in adults are noteworthy. It can be easily said that the achievement of hepatitis vaccination programme in Turkey will lead to a significant reduct...